Weaving Freedom: Jewish Women’s Resilience in Harbin’s Diaspora, 1898–1950

This paper explores how Jewish women in Harbin, China (1898–1950), negotiated freedom within a self-governing diaspora community on a multi-ethnic frontier. Preserving Jewish identity amid Russian, Chinese, and Japanese influences, they defied historical constraints—displacement from pogroms, Japanese occupation—often underexplored by scholars emphasizing men’s contributions to economic and public life. Drawing on local archival sources—diaries, memoirs, and pictures—and comparisons with other diaspora communities, this research underscores their negotiated freedom as a model with contemporary relevance for multi-ethnic religious contexts. I argue that Jewish women secured freedom through education and ritual, blending biblical traditions with local practices—schools merging Jewish and Russian learning, Passover seders with Chinese elements. This process, termed “diasporic midrash,” a lived reinterpretation of tradition, sustained Jewishness without rabbinic authority, shaping Harbin’s cultural fabric. Their pragmatic freedom anchored resilience, offering a regional feminist lens on gender and religious identity with lasting resonance.